Principal Sparklepire
by mmooch
Summary: The Hellmouth would never be the same, thanks to Ethan's Halloween spell. *minor crossovers with different fandoms*
1. Chapter 1: Making the Change

**Principal Sparklepire**

Summary: The Hellmouth would never be the same, thanks to Ethan's Halloween spell.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Timeline: BtVS season 2 _'Halloween'_ and beyond. After New Moon for Twilight.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum challenge to write a Snyder-Stu. I know he's not exactly gonna be a Stu though.

A/N: I've never read Twilight or seen the movies, so I'm just using wiki for info. That and the challenge request is what determines the sire-bond mentioned in the story. If it doesn't match up with canon Twilight, please think of this as AU then, k'?

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**Chapter 1: Making the Change**

Alice Cullen looked around at the strange setting she found herself in. None of her family was nearby that she could tell, and there were all sorts of weird creatures hurting people. Her heart cried out from all the pain and suffering she witnessed.

Then a strange thing happened.

She got a glimpse of the future where all the creatures hurting people suddenly turned back into small children and teenagers. That confused her because she wasn't supposed to be able to read shapeshifters' futures.

Just then, a young redhead came up to her, asking for assistance, but using somebody else's name. "Buffy! We have to do something! And by 'we', I mean you 'cause I'm a ghost now and can't really do anything! Xander has no idea who he is, and ran off when his gun went through me!"

"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Alice Cullen," the petite vampire introduced herself. So this was a ghost? How unusual.

Willow cried out in dismay at the response, "Oh god, you turned into your costume too! What are we gonna do now?" she asked, not really expecting an answer from a costume character.

Alice tipped her head to the side as she pondered this new information. "Do you mean to say that all these creatures are just kids in costumes?"

Turning back to her best friend-who-didn't-remember-her, Willow replied dully, "Well, yeah."

"Huh. That might explain why I saw them changing back," Alice murmured to herself.

"What?" Willow looked confused until she remembered which Cullen Buffy had dressed as. "Oh, that's right; you're the one who could see the future!"

Staring at her companion again, Alice inquired, "You've heard of me and my family?"

Willow looked a little nervous as she started to explain, unsure of how Alice would react, "Umm, yes? You're characters from a book series…and I think they might be making a movie series from it too."

"That's very interesting," was the rather calm reply.

Startled by the easy acceptance, Willow had to wonder, "You aren't upset by this?"

Alice just shrugged her tiny shoulders, "Why should I be? I'm quite real in my world, so why should I be upset that I'm not in yours?"

Willow shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "Okay. That's very accepting of you. Do you have any ideas how we can fix this?"

After thinking about it for a few minutes, Alice asked, "What would Buffy have done?"

"Protect people," Willow responded immediately.

Alice sighed resignedly, "Very admirable, but I fail to see how that would fix things."

As if the proverbial light bulb went on over her head, Willow cried out again, "Ooo! We could ask Giles! He's the one we go to for answers."

"Lead on, I'll protect as best I can without killing anyone or anything," Alice said, following the specter through the dangerous streets. While they made their way to the high school, Willlow filled Alice in on Buffy and Giles and Sunnydale. Strangely enough, Alice wasn't upset that she was in the body of a girl who killed vampires; from the description Willow gave of these vampires, it sounded like a good thing.

* * *

As they got to the high school, they heard a terrified scream coming from the gymnasium. Alice turned to Willow and said, "I'll go take care of this; why don't you talk to Giles. I'll find you later."

"Okay. Be careful, alright?" Willow pleaded, leaving off that she didn't want anything to happen to Buffy's body. That might be considered insensitive.

Despite the words not spoken, Alice knew where Willow's concern mainly lie. Still, she reassured the young redhead in the same vague way, "Don't worry. We Cold Ones are very resilient."

* * *

"Summers! Help me!" Snyder yelled when he saw Alice/Buffy enter the gym.

She rushed over to his side and looked at the various wounds on his body. "I'm not Buffy Summers," she corrected him, "but I'll do what I can. What happened?"

"One of those monsters attacked me. I think I'm gonna die!" he wailed in despair, not even registering the correction.

Seeing his future and all the pain that could be avoided if she changed things right now, Alice asked, "Are you willing to follow my ways if I save you?" She had to make sure she followed the sire-ing process carefully so that he still had some free will, but would answer to direct commands from her.

Snyder glared at the bane of his existence and snapped, "What are you talking about?"

"I won't save you just so you can become a monster," Alice insisted.

Fearing death more than any promise he made to Summers – which he could always ignore later when he was better – Snyder shouted, "Fine, fine! I'll do whatever you want!"

Alice nodded solemnly, closing her eyes and placing her hand on his forehead as she spoke the sire-ing words, "Okay. I accept responsibility of being your sire then. I'm sorry for the pain you will feel," she added, grabbing his wrist and biting down.

Snyder tried to pull his wrist away, but it was too late by that point, the venom was already in him. "Sire? You're a vampire? Why didn't the Mayor know that?" Any further conversation was cut off by his screams of agony as the venom coursed through his veins.

Alice looked through his pockets and located his wallet. Once she had his address, she scooped him up – thankfully he wasn't much taller than she was – and started running to his home. What she found inside didn't surprise her, but still it broke her heart a little. This wasn't a home; it was a dwelling-place. This man had no one to care for him, and he allowed it to make him into the bitter creature he was today. Hopefully, that would change with their bond. "When you awaken, find some animal blood to feed on, then come to me," she ordered in his ear as she laid him in his bed.

She started back to the school to find Willow and Giles when she lost her balance. Something was tearing her away from the body she was in. Her last thoughts in this world were, _**'I hope Buffy will take care of him.'**_

* * *

A/N: Scary, isn't it? Buffy as Snyder's sire?

A/N2: Next…Buffy finds out what Alice did.


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Your What!

**Chapter 2: I'm Your What?**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum 'challenge' to write a Snyder-Stu.

A/N: I've never read Twilight or seen the movies, so I'm just using wiki for info. That and the challenge request is what determines the sire-bond mentioned in the story. If it doesn't match up with canon Twilight, please think of this as AU then, k'?

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Sunnydale High Library

**Three days after Halloween…**

The Scoobies and Giles were startled when the doors to the library were flung open Monday evening. What startled them even more was _who_ flung the doors open…Principal Snyder. The kids had just finished telling Giles how nice the day had been without the troll around to make people suffer – although the Watcher already knew that because the staff felt the same way.

It was surprising that Snyder hadn't shown up for work and hadn't even called in. The secretary – when asked – said that he disappeared sometime Friday night during all the commotion, and she had to assume responsibility for the trick-or-treaters when they returned to the school. That led to the assumption that something had happened to the Principal when everyone turned into their costumes. Question was, did anyone care?

But apparently, it was a moot point, since there he stood in the doorway to the library.

When he saw Buffy sitting at the table, he rushed over to her. Once there, he dropped to his knees, laid his head on her lap, and cried out, "Sire! It's so good to be with you again!"

Willow choked on the donut she just took a bite of and was chewing.

Xander turned green, and rushed to the garbage can to empty his stomach.

Giles, who had just taken a sip of tea, spewed it all over the books they were looking through.

Meanwhile, Buffy just sat there frozen in horror, staring at the head of _Snyder_ in her lap! When she tried to push him away, he wrapped his arms around her legs and whimpered. Starting to get scared, she turned to her Watcher and begged, "Giles? Is the world ending and nobody told me again? Please? I really don't like this!"

Before anyone could respond, they heard an animalistic roar from the stacks. Snyder stood up and looked like he was ready to defend Buffy from whatever creature might try to harm her.

Only the 'creature' wasn't after her; it was Angel, who attacked Snyder. "Stay away from her, you monster!" the ensouled vampire shouted angrily. Then he swung his fist at Snyder's jaw, only to yelp in pain when it made contact. It was like hitting a brick wall, only with less give.

Then it was Snyder's turn to punch Angel – with much more success, too. Within seconds, Angel was a bloody mess from the beating he was taking.

When Buffy shook herself from the stunned state she was in, she jumped up and put herself in between the two fighters. "Stop!" she screamed at Snyder as his fist raced towards her face. "Leave Angel alone!"

Immediately, Snyder's hand dropped to his side, and he whispered, "Yes, sire."

Hearing his Slayer called 'sire' made Giles' head to snap to attention. "What the bloody hell is going on here!" he bellowed, causing everyone to cringe.

"He isn't human anymore," Angel started to explain, gesturing at the principal.

At the same time, Snyder answered, "She's my sire," pointing to Buffy as he spoke and looking like he wanted to grab her again.

Everyone turned to Buffy for the next response. She just shook her head in confusion and said, "I have no clue what's going on. Or why Snyder's acting like this." When she said the last part, he whimpered again, which caused Buffy to feel a twinge of guilt or something.

Finally, Willow rose her hand hesitantly. "Angel? What did it feel like when you punched Principal Snyder?"

"Like I was hitting rock," he replied, wondering what that had to do with anything.

Next she turned to the troll and asked, "Principal Snyder? Where did Buffy…umm, sire you?"

He looked at his sire to see if he should answer, and when he saw the expectant look in her eyes, he said, "In the gymnasium. She told me to find her when I woke up and fed – on animal blood," Snyder rushed to clarify for his sire.

The redhead looked very uncomfortable as she pieced together the puzzle. "I think I know what happened. See, Buffy thought it would be kind of ironic to dress as a vampire for Halloween-"

Xander cut her off, "We already know that. She picked some short bloodsucker from that new book, Dusk or something."

"Twilight," Buffy corrected absently as it started to sink in. "Does that mean I actually turned into Alice Cullen?"

Willow nodded, "Uh-huh. She and I were coming to the school to talk to Giles about what was going on when we heard a scream from the gym. She said she would take care of it while I talked to Giles. Giles went to break the spell, and I found you in the street with no memory of what happened."

"So you think that while she was this Alice character, she turned Principal Snyder into a vampire?" Giles inquired. "Why would she do something like that?"

"Well, you see, vampires in the Twilight series aren't the same as real vampires; not all of them are evil. Alice and her family drank animal blood, and tried to fit into the community. The 'kids' went to school, the 'mom' was a housewife, and the 'dad' was a doctor," Willow explained.

Angel couldn't stop himself from asking, "How did they manage to go out during the day?"

Buffy answered this time, "The sunlight doesn't hurt them. They do have to be careful about direct sunlight, but only because they…" she fought back a giggle, then continued, "…sparkle."

"You've got to be kidding!" Angel glared at her. "You're telling me I got beat up by a freakin' fairy?"

At that, Xander started laughing so hard he actually fell on the floor and rolled around. Willow was shaking silently in giggles, her face turning the same color as her hair. At the same time, Giles kept clearing his throat and wiping his glasses furiously, turning so he wasn't facing them anymore. Buffy was biting her lower lip suspiciously, trying to ignore Xander's howling guffaws. She wanted to be sympathetic to the guy she had a crush on – _really_ she did – but did he have to word it that way?

When she didn't say anything, Snyder spoke up again, "I thought you were trying to hurt my sire. I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Somehow, that didn't do anything to soothe Angel's bruised ego. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Buffy, okay?" The Slayer nodded, feeling guilty that he was so upset, but she knew she needed to stay here and figure this thing out.

* * *

A/N: Next…Buffy learns more about Snyder.


	3. Chapter 3: Snyder, the Early Years

**Chapter 3: Snyder, the Early Years**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum 'challenge' to write a Snyder-Stu.

A/N: Since there was no mention I could find of Snyder's first name, I came up with one myself.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Summers home

**Next morning…**

Buffy groaned as she rolled out of bed to get ready for school. Last night was not fun.

After Angel left, the research session basically consisted of her and Willow explaining to Giles and Xander what went on in the Twilight books, then explaining why on earth they would ever read such 'ridiculous drivel'. The answer was obvious: _because_ it was ridiculous drivel!

C'mon! Who _didn't_ get a giggle out of sparkly vampires? Buffy wouldn't admit it to anyone else – even Willow – but the similar stalker behavior between Angel and Edward kinda freaked her out. That and their matching broodiness. Thank goodness Willow didn't share that tidbit, or Xander would be harping on that every time he saw Angel.

What happened to Snyder was pretty clear – even if they didn't fully understand the mechanics of it. Despite the spell being broken, Alice's venom was already starting to change him into a Twilight version of vampire.

Fortunately, the sire-bond in that 'verse was considerably stronger than in the real world. They discovered that Snyder would follow any command directly given to him by Buffy. When they learned that, Xander begged her to make him do something really humiliating, like put on a pink tutu and prance around the school singing, 'I'm a little teapot' the next day when all the students were there. As tempting as the idea was – and really, who deserved it more than the troll – something in Buffy's mind said that was wrong. Even Giles looked a tad disappointed when she refused, although he _claimed_ to be proud of her maturity.

It did bring up the question of how Snyder was going to be principal at a school in sunny Southern California when he sparkled. As expected, Giles was the one to come up with the answer…and the spell necessary to cast a glamour. It was simple enough that Buffy could cast it herself, and since she was the sire, it fell on her to take care of her 'creation'. It was only temporary, so she'd have to re-cast it every few days until they came up with a more permanent solution.

When they talked about the feeding habits of Twilight vampires, Snyder told them that the butcher's blood would work in a pinch, but it was best if he hunted for his meals. Part of the bloodlust was the thrill of the hunt. Given the choice of Bambi or a human, Buffy figured that Bambi's time was up. After all, it wasn't that much different than humans who hunted for venison. And it wasn't like the blood from the butchers came from animals that were still alive.

Once they came up with the plan for not outing Snyder as a vampire, Giles asked Buffy to do a quick patrol. Fortunately, it was pretty quiet for the Slayer since Snyder kept insisting on helping her. She just wasn't ready for this new *shudder* relationship with her principal. To avoid snapping at him and making him whimper again, Buffy gently asked him to go home and stay there – unless he needed to go hunting for animal blood – until school the next day. He agreed, only after she allowed him to walk her home. This wasn't the vampiric stalker/protector she wanted with her!

Now she'd have to make sure Snyder didn't try to cuddle with her at school. The image of him doing that made the tough Slayer whimper and want to crawl back in bed where it was safe.

**

* * *

**

Sunnydale High

**Later that day…**

Staring across the room at something, Cordelia asked her sheep, "Have you guys seen Snyder following Buffy and her loser friends around all day?"

"I'd follow Summers any day," Larry replied with a leer, which everyone promptly ignored.

Instead, Percy guessed, "Maybe he's trying to catch them doing something wrong so he can suspend them."

Harmony chirped, "Yeah! Like skipping class or something!"

Cordelia just shook her head at that hypothesis. "But he's looking at her like he's a puppy and she has some bacon for him."

Cringing her face in disgust, Aura leaned in to whisper, "Eww! You don't think he's like…_crushing_ on her, do you?"

"Ugh, thanks for making me lose my appetite," Larry complained, pushing away his tray.

"Like, for-_ever_!" Harmony agreed. Then she thought, _**'Hey, that would be good for losing some unwanted pounds…if I ever got any.'**_

The rest of school and patrolling went pretty much the same as the night before, and Buffy was relieved to get home. It was the only place she was safe from Snyder. What made it worse was that she was beginning to sense his presence and emotions – the most prevalent emotion being loneliness. That made it hard to keep hating him for all the crap he gave them over the last couple years.

With true Buffy-luck, she had her first dream of Principal Snyder – that didn't include him with a flaming stick up his- well, somewhere private.

_

* * *

_

Dream Flashback…

**Hospital**

**45 years ago…**

The delivery doctor looked at the new parents, then warned them, "Mr. and Mrs. Randolph, I have to warn you that your second son is very small and is likely to have a lot of health problems in the future. His twin, Harrison Jr., however, is the model of good health. It's as if all the good genes went to Harrison and the leftovers went to the other one." If he thought it was strange that they had only named one of their children, he didn't say so.

_*skip*_

**Randolph house**

**Days later…**

"Don't use our good sheets to wrap him up," Mrs. Randolph called to her husband. "I'll grab one of the potato sacks from the pantry."

He agreed, taking the sheet off of their 'leftover' son, "Good idea, dear. They may be able to track us down if we use something nicer."

_*skip*_

**Orphanage**

"So he was just left on the doorstep in this basket? No note or anything?" Usually they at least left notes explaining why they couldn't keep the child.

The secretary replied dispassionately, "No. What should we name him?"

"There's the name Snyder's Market on the sack he's wrapped in," the director of the orphanage observed blandly; it wasn't as if he really cared.

Neither did the secretary. "And a first name?" he prompted.

By this point, the director just wanted to get back to his office and away from the child. "I don't care; whatever you want," he called out over his shoulder.

A kind cleaning lady was just finishing up for the morning and spoke up softly, "Can I suggest Rayner? It's a very nice name."

"It doesn't really matter, but alright…Rayner Snyder," the secretary repeated as he typed it on the admission form.

_*skip*_

**Orphanage**

**Years later…**

A group of young boys circled their prey, hitting him with dirt clods and rocks. The leader taunted him, "Hey, Reject! Did any of the families talk to you today?"

The group's second-in-command answered for the object of their torment. "Of course they didn't! That's why he's called Reject!"

"My name's Rayner," young Snyder whispered with bright eyes, blood starting to drip from the places that the rocks cut him.

"Aww look, little baby Reject is gonna start crying again! You gonna try and tattle on us again?" the group leader snarled right before they pounced on him.

_*skip*_

**Orphanage**

**Same day…**

As the nurse cleaned up his wounds, young Snyder finished explaining to the director what happened, "…Then they shoved me to the ground and pushed my face in the mud."

The man peered over his glasses in disgust at the child; he loathed weak children. "You must learn to stand up for yourself, Snyder. Tattle-tells grow up to be snitches, and nobody likes a snitch," he sneered.

"What about what they did to me?" Rayner Snyder asked, fighting the tears – mostly because he knew the director would punish him if he cried.

"Boys will be boys," the director replied coldly, then walked out of the infirmary.

_*skip*_

**Orphanage**

**Over the next several years…**

Scenes just like that kept repeating with whichever boys were at the orphanage. When one would be adopted, another would take his place. It soon became a rite of passage that when a new boy came, he had to think of a good torture to inflict on Rayner Snyder.

_End Dream Flashback…_

* * *

The next morning, Buffy woke up in tears. God, she never thought she'd say this, but she felt sorry for Principal Snyder. It didn't even occur to her to doubt that the dreams were real; she _knew_ they were.

Hurrying to get dressed, she raced over to his house before school, not even worrying that somebody might see her there.

Worried at her presence, and sensing her unhappiness, Snyder fell to his knees and questioned, "Sire! What are you doing here? Have I displeased you in some way?"

Buffy quickly pulled him back to his feet. Yep, she really felt bad for all the horrible things she thought about him before. Deciding that straightforward was the way to handle this, she dove right in, "No. I came over to talk about a dream I had of you last night…about your childhood at the orphanage."

"Do we have to?" he asked, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. He would talk if she insisted, though.

She smiled sadly in return. "Not in detail if you don't want. All I really want to say is that nobody deserves to be treated like that. I thought Xander had it rough 'cause his folks drink and yell at him; or Willow and her parents basically treating her like a sociology experiment instead of a daughter. Not that those situations don't suck, but they're nothing compared to what you suffered through. I'm sorry you had to go through that," she finished, laying her hand on his and giving it a supportive squeeze.

Unprepared for the kindness, Snyder's eyes welled up with tears. "You mean that, don't you?" he pleaded. "This isn't a cruel game you're playing with my feelings?"

"God no!" In that instant, Buffy stopped looking at him as The Troll, and saw Rayner, a man desperate for friendship. She pulled him into a hug and whispered, "I'm your sire, even though I'm not a vampire anymore. You're _mine_ to protect now."

With that vow, he broke down sobbing in her arms.

* * *

A/N: Next…Snyder, the teen years.


	4. Chapter 4: Snyder, the School Years

Chapter 4: Snyder, the School Years

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum 'challenge' to write a Snyder-Stu.

A/N: Is anyone else surprised to be feeling sorry for the troll?

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Summers home

**That night…**

It didn't even startle the Slayer when she dreamed again about Snyder's past. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know more or not – especially if it was as bad as last night's dream.

_Dream Flashback…_

**High School**

"I'm appalled that you would flout our rules by cheating, Mr. Snyder. One week's detention. If this should happen again, you will be suspended," the school principal threatened.

"What about the others?" Rayner inquired, not holding out much hope that it would be as severe as his punishment – even if the jocks were the ones to blame for this. After all, it wasn't as if _he_ got anything out of the arrangement of writing the papers for them. It didn't even stop them from shoving him into lockers, or sticking his head in a toilet, or a number of other things.

A sentiment that was prophetic, it seemed. The principal replied, "They are doing special work for the teachers in order to receive credit for the classes."

Later, Rayner found out that 'special work' was a euphemism for wiping the blackboards and emptying the trashcans…for one day.

_*skip*_

**College/Work**

"Goodbye, Snyder. See you next weekend," Rayner's boss called out as he clocked out of the fish processing plant. God, he hated the smell of fish! But it was a job, and if he wanted to be able to attend night school, he needed the money it gave him.

Strangely enough, it wasn't as disgusting as his job at the train station. He may never eat fish again, but at least fish guts weren't as revolting as cleaning up after all kinds of people: from the ones who simply litter, to the derelicts who vomit and use the secluded parts of the station as their private bathrooms.

Oh well, only two more years at this rate and his eight year stint as a part-time college student would be over. After that, no more fish or trains…_ever_.

_End Dream Flashback…_

* * *

Just like the day before, Buffy felt she needed to talk to Principal Snyder again about what she learned, so she got dressed and made her way over to his house.

"Good morning, sire," he welcomed, not as concerned by her visit as the day before. "Did you have another dream?"

"Good morning, Rayner," she greeted him, using his first name since they were in private. "By the way, did you know your name means 'worthy protector'? I looked it up in the library last night."

"No, I didn't. I wonder why they called me that?" he whispered to himself, forgetting that she could hear him.

Buffy put her hand on his arm and said, "Because somebody was smart enough to see what you could become someday – with the right encouragement."

Embarrassed by the strange feelings her kindness stirred up in him, Rayner changed the subject, "Your dream, sire?"

"Oh…yeah. Can I just say how impressed I am at your persistence in getting a college degree?" she commented proudly, making him blush even more. "To work at those places for eight years just so that you could do something better with your life. You must have really wanted to become an archeologist a great deal."

Rayner shrugged self-deprecatingly, "It's interesting; and as long as I stuck to the tasks of searching for artifacts, I didn't have to worry about being good with people."

Buffy thought it was a shame that he wasn't doing something he enjoyed. "Why didn't you stay with it?" she inquired.

"Because things don't always work out the way we want them to." Desperate to change the subject _again_, he asked, "Is that all you dreamed of?"

"No. I dreamt about the jocks bullying you into doing their homework for them, and what happened when you were caught." She paused for a moment, trying to word this correctly so she wouldn't hurt his feelings. "What I don't understand is, why do you let the popular kids get away with the same things? I could feel how angry you were at the injustice of the situation."

"Because I'm too weak to stand up to them – even now," Rayner answered, staring at the floor in shame.

Unwilling to let him do that to himself, the Slayer tipped his chin up with her fingers. "Hey, did you forget something? You're virtually indestructible now. All anyone would accomplish by hitting you is breaking their own hand. You might not be able to stop bullying altogether, but you can at least slow it at the school."

Rayner knew she was right, but knowing it intellectually and knowing it in his heart were two different things. But he could feel her displeasure, and it bothered him…more than the fear he felt from his past. "Are you going to order me to do something about it?" he inquired.

"No, 'cause that would be a different form of bullying. I'd rather not order you to do anything." Before he could ask or comment on her previous orders, she explained, "I will make an exception for the feeding thing, though. The rest of your life should be _your_ choice."

**

* * *

**

Sunnydale High Detention room

**That afternoon…**

"Does anyone know what Snyder's malfunction is? Why _we're_ in detention?" Cordelia's voice almost reached screeching levels as she huffed over to her seat.

"I know what you mean," Larry agreed, sitting on the desk next to her. "It was weird when he gave me my slip. All I did was knock a girl's books to the floor and stare at her while she picked them up. It's not as if he hasn't seen me do that a thousand times before, but now it's suddenly 'bullying' and has to stop."

One of the jocks pointed to himself and his teammates while he added, "And he stopped Jonathon from giving us our homework assignments; told us we had to do them ourselves or we couldn't play on Friday. Then he gave _us_ detention for trying to cheat, but let the geek go."

"Exactly!" Queen C screeched again. "And _just_ because I told some losers to get away from me at lunchtime, suddenly _I'm _a bully, too."

"Think maybe we should teach him a lesson?" Larry asked, cracking his knuckles in a threatening fashion. He never beat up a teacher before, but didn't mind making an exception in this case.

Cordy looked at him like he was deficient – which he quite possibly was. Didn't he realize that he'd get expelled or something for that? – then sniffed haughtily, "It would probably be better if I had Daddy talk to the school board about him."

**

* * *

**

The Bronze

"Guys! Did you hear what happened after school today?" Xander practically shouted as he flopped down on the couch between his best buds, shifting his butt to make room.

Rolling her eyes at his not-so-subtle attempt to sit next to her instead of on the open side of Willow, Buffy simply answered, "I was in the library, training with Giles." She and Snyder finally got to a point of understanding that just because she didn't want to be in his presence all the time, didn't mean she was rejecting him personally. She just didn't want to be with adults 24/7. He was currently at the library, talking to Giles and getting to know her Watcher better.

"And I was there, doing research on Angel's curse," Willow added before taking a sip of her drink.

Xander looked disgusted at the mention of the ensouled vampire. "Why?" he asked.

Willow simply shrugged in return, "'Cause it just sounds like something interesting to learn more about. Like, did you know that with curses, there's often a loophole? Something that can break it?" she asked, getting excited to share her discoveries.

"What do you mean?" Buffy questioned, wondering if it was a good thing or a bad thing to break this particular curse. After all, it was a curse on a vampire. But calling it a curse bothered her, too.

"Okay, you know Sleeping Beauty was awakened by 'true love's first kiss'?" When they both nodded, she went on, "It's probably something like that."

"So Angelus is sleeping and waiting for true love's first kiss? Can demons feel love though?" she pondered thoughtfully. Then another idea came to her, and that one upset her. "Wait, I've kissed Angel before and nothing's happened. Are you saying I'm not his true love?" Buffy asked, starting to hyperventilate.

Willow put her hand on Buffy's mouth to stop the babble. Is that what she sounded like when she got worked up? Wow! "I'm not saying it's exactly the same thing, Buffy. I was just using that as an example."

"So what's Deadboy's loophole?" Xander inquired, cutting to the chase.

Buffy scowled at him, still distressed by the possibility that she wasn't Angel's true love. "Quit calling him that."

"I haven't been able to figure that out," Willow admitted, looking apologetically at the blonde. "We'll probably need to find a gypsy – preferably from the clan that cursed him – to learn that."

"Can I vote that we find out as soon as possible? As much as Deadb-" When the Slayer glared at him, Xander quickly corrected himself, "Angel bugs me, I don't think I want to deal with the version without a soul."

Seeing the pensiveness of her redheaded best friend, Buffy prompted her to speak up, "Willow?"

Willow bit her lip nervously. This wasn't good news and she wasn't sure how Buffy would take it. "Umm, I learned more about Angelus, too. I don't think you'll like what I found out."

"He was a normal vampire; I assume there was death and destruction involved," Buffy replied casually, worried that wasn't going to be the case, but needing to enjoy her real estate in Egypt a little bit longer.

Looking like she was about to cry, Willow shook her head sadly. "He wasn't normal though. Death and destruction weren't enough for him; he liked mind games and torture more than simply killing."

Xander let out a low whistle, for once not trying to make a funny remark to ease the tension. "Guess we know why he feels guilty all the time."

"But that was the demon's fault. Did your research say anything about the human he was before he was turned?" Buffy asked, her eyes pleading with Willow for some kind of good news.

Those hopes were dashed when Willow shook her head again, "Sorry, unless the person was kind of important, it's not the sort of thing they put in the books."

The Slayer took a deep breath and sighed, determined not to let this bother her until she had all the facts…starting with talking to Angel about his human life. She smiled at Willow and said, "Thanks for finding out what you have. Do you mind still looking for answers? Maybe there's something on the 'net about the curse and loophole?" she suggested.

"I was going to try that tomorrow," Willow confirmed. "Thought I'd ask Miss Calendar for help since she's a technopagan. You don't mind if she knows, do you?" she checked, hoping Buffy wouldn't.

"No, the more people helping, the better. If you tell me what to do, I can look too," Buffy offered, knowing she wasn't as good at research as Willow or Giles. This was about her crush guy though; she should help if she could.

"The loophole would have to be pretty rare if it hasn't happened yet," Xander stated with none of his usual snarkiness. "I mean, it's been how many years since he was cursed?"

"Almost 100; he was cursed sometime in 1898, I think," Willow answered easily. That was the year a gypsy tribe was wiped out, so it made sense that the two things were connected.

That reminded Buffy of the Sleeping Beauty analogy again, so she inquired, "You think there's a time limit on it? Don't you think it's weird that we met him just a year before the hundred year anniversary of the curse?" she pointed out when they looked at her doubtfully.

"I don't know, but I can add it to my list of questions if I can ever find a gypsy." Coming to a decision, Willow stood and gestured to the blonde. "Buff? Can I talk to you in private for a second?"

"Sure, hurt my feelings," Xander replied with a mock-pout.

Willow just glared at him. "It's a _girl_ thing, Xan."

* * *

When they were in a semi-private place, Buffy asked, "What's the what?"

"Umm, I know I said this wasn't the same thing as the Sleeping Beauty deal, but you may want to keep from doing any other…uh, firsts with him – just to be safe." Willow's eyes widened as she realized that she didn't ever talk to Buffy about this particular matter before, and she started babbling, "Assuming it would be a first for you…not that I'm suggesting-"

It was Buffy's turn to put her hand up to cease the babble. "Stop, Will. I wasn't planning on doing _that_ _first_ with him, but I'll keep this in mind if I ever start to think I'm ready for _that first_. And it _would_ be my first. Thanks for the head's up," she said, giving the redhead a hug.

* * *

"Okay, Xander, what was your big news?" Willow inquired as they resumed their positions on either side of the brunette male.

"The Troll actually gave Cordelia and some jocks detention today," Xander gleefully shared. "He must have finally snapped something in that evil brain of his."

Buffy stood up and hissed quietly at her friend, "Stop talking about him like that! You have _no_ idea what misery he's been through. Did you ever stop to think that maybe he was trying to change? Make things better for the kids who get bullied at school?" She stormed off, not wanting to share Rayner's secrets with anyone without his consent – even if it was in his defense.

Shocked at her strange behavior, Xander blinked a few times before remarking, "Wow. Never thought I'd hear the Buffster defend Snyder."

"She _is_ his sire, Xander," Willow reminded him. "You basically just told a mother than her kid sucked. And you know how Buffy is about hurting the people she cares about."

Xander winced, recalling all the times she defended him in similar situations. "I know, I just forgot that Snyder was included in that category now."

"She does have a point about him though. Well, _two_ points," she corrected herself. "One, we don't know anything about him – which is normal, and she can't really hold it against us – and two, maybe he _is_ trying to stop the bullying that goes on at school. You have to admit he hasn't been that bad towards us the last couple days."

"No, but that's because he spends most of his time drooling at Buffy's feet," he replied with a hint of snark in his voice.

Willow felt he needed to be teased just a bit and said, "Jealous that you have to share that spot with _another_ vampire?"

"He's not as bad as Deadboy, I guess," Xander conceded. "He just wants to keep Buffy safe and happy. But if she ever starts making googly eyes at Snyder, I'm tossing my cookies," he warned.

"Right there with you on that one," Willow agreed with a shudder. Somehow she thought Buffy would feel the same way.

* * *

A/N: Next…Snyder, the adult years.


	5. Chapter 5: Snyder, the Adult Years

**Chapter 5: Snyder, the Adult Years**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum 'challenge' to write a Snyder-Stu.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Slight mention of Indiana Jones, who belongs to George Lucas – and Steven Spielberg…I think. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Summers home

As she prepared for bed, Buffy almost dreaded what she would learn about Rayner in her dreams. Would he _ever_ have something good happen to him?

_Dream Flashback…_

**Dig site in remote South America**

**3 years after college graduation…**

Rayner was finally content for the first time in his life.

Oh, it wasn't perfect, and there were still people who picked on him for one reason or another, but overall, life was good. Most of that was due to him getting to work at something he enjoyed _and_ was very good at. He had the most uncanny knack for picking sites on a dig that would yield the best finds. Sometimes it was quantity, other times it was quality. In the small group he worked with, he got a new nickname. Although it wasn't as cruel as Reject, it still wasn't what one would consider complimentary…Rover.

The other reason he smiled more often now was because of the one person who refused to call him that, saying it was mean and anyone who used it must be jealous of him. Rayner knew that Cynthia had her pick of men on the dig, so he was stunned when she spent her time with him. She wasn't a pin-up girl, but she _was _pretty, and more importantly – at least to him – she was intelligent.

While they searched for artifacts, they had wonderful conversations on a wide variety of topics. Even though he didn't gain much popularity with the rest of the crew, she still managed to draw him out of his shell a bit.

(While she slept, Buffy smiled at the thought Rayner had something nice in his life for once.)

_*skip*_

**Different dig site in Australia**

**A year later…**

The first time Cynthia wanted to take credit for one of Rayner's finds, he was leery. But as she pointed out, she would be asked to leave the dig if she didn't have a discovery soon. So he agreed.

A few months later, she 'needed' another find. Part of him knew that he was being used, but the larger part of him didn't care. After all, weren't all relationships give and take? She gave him happiness, so it really wasn't too much to ask for her to take some of his discoveries.

Now, a year later, it was almost commonplace for her to claim credit for half of the things he found. Rayner still didn't mind; he planned to marry her someday…when he had enough saved up to support them. He actually had a plan so he could earn more, too. There was an associate professorship with the famous Dr. Henry Walton 'Indiana' Jones at Barnett College. He would have the stability of the professorship so they could have a home, and he could go out on digs with Dr. Jones from time to time.

Rayner told Cynthia about the job, but not the reason behind him seeking it. He didn't want to risk anything until he had it locked up. Dr. Jones was coming to the site next week to interview for the position. Even though he knew that the interview portion would be difficult for him to shine, Rayner believed from the things he'd heard about Dr. Jones that making a significant find on this dig would go a lot further in impressing the man.

His normal luck was with him when the morning that Dr. Jones was arriving, Rayner found an almost perfectly intact specimen that indicated that the aboriginals had religious artifacts which mirrored Christianity before any missionaries had landed here in the early 19th century. With that, the job was practically his! He was so excited that he called Cynthia over, and to her shock and his, kissed her soundly on the lips – the first time he had taken such a liberty with her. Then he rushed off to his tent to get cleaned up and changed into something nice.

He didn't mind Dr. Jones seeing him in his dig clothes, but the very second he was given the job, Rayner wanted to propose to his love. He might not be offered the job immediately, but just in case, he wanted to be ready. Once he was spiffed up, he grabbed a ring he purchased from a local aboriginal tribe and placed it in his pocket. Then he went off searching for Dr. Jones.

Hours later, when he finally tracked the man down, Rayner felt like he had been punched in the gut…repeatedly. Standing next to Dr. Jones, getting her picture taken, was Cynthia. She was holding the artifact in her hands and beamed at the cameras. Meanwhile, Dr. Jones made his announcement that she had won the coveted position on his staff.

For the first time in his life, Rayner Snyder went off and got completely wasted. And he kept repeating the experience for two weeks straight every night. Having lost his job with the dig, he packed up his things and went back to the US. He refused to go back to the East Coast, though, so he took a flight to California instead.

_End Dream Flashback…_

* * *

When she woke up, Buffy found that she was griping the necklace Angel had given her the previous year. That didn't surprise her; she often held the cross in her sleep. The startling thing was that it was crumpled up like it was made of paper. She decided if she ever met that Cynthia bitch, she'd give the necklace to her, along with a warning that someday Cynthia could expect the same thing to happen to her.

She almost didn't want to go to Rayner's house that morning, knowing that reminding him of that time would hurt him terribly. But she also knew that he needed to hear that he didn't deserve that treatment – _nobody_ did.

As it turned out, her dreams of tracking the bitch down were moot. Rayner explained that on one of her trips with Dr. Jones, she ignored his warnings about a trap and was crushed by five tons of rock and animal feces underneath an animal reserve.

**

* * *

**

Mayor's Office

**At the same time…**

"Have we heard anything from Principal Snyder this week?" the Mayor inquired of his assistant.

Finch flipped through his notes, searching for any mention of a call. Finally, he shook his head, "No, he hasn't reported on the Slayer's activities once. Should we be concerned?"

"I'm not certain," the Mayor replied thoughtfully. "Why don't you have that student –what was his name again? – give us an update."

"You mean Warren Mears?" Finch asked, shuddering at the mention of the demented student. He _hated_ talking to that kid!

The Mayor's opinion differed from his assistant, though. "Yes. Delightfully evil mind that boy has. A little too misogynistic for my tastes, but still a brilliant boy."

**

* * *

**

A short time later…

Finch walked back into the office and cleared his throat nervously. "I talked to Warren Mears, and the news isn't good, sir."

"What is it?" the Mayor asked, looking up from his milk and cookies.

"Principal Snyder has ceased terrorizing the Slayer and her friends. In fact, he's actually interceded with a teacher more than once on their behalf. In addition, he gave one of the cheerleaders and several of the athletes detention for bullying other students," Finch ended his report and waited for the fallout.

"Well, I don't mind that part so much. Children should learn that bullying has no place in life." The Mayor's easy grin dropped from his face as he considered the first part of the report. "However, his behavior regarding the Slayer cannot go unpunished. Who do we have that can take care of that for us?" he inquired.

Guessing that his boss didn't want to risk any important allies, Finch suggested, "There's that group of vampires leftover from the Master's minions. You said that you didn't want to make any decisions about them when they attacked the high school on Parents Night."

The Mayor recalled that group, and his plan to force them to become allies if they survived the Slayer long enough. "Very well, send an _invitation_ to them to come here to discuss a business proposition. Make sure they understand it is not voluntary, alright Allan?" he added, his tone threatening despite the grin that accompanied it.

Finch nodded, fighting the urge to pee himself. When the Mayor was in this kind of mood, it was much scarier than when he was angry. "Yes, sir."

"Good, and let's have some fresh blood ready for them to seal the deal. Maybe a half dozen virgins from the local boys' school," he ordered his quaking assistant.

**

* * *

**

Summers home

**That afternoon…**

"Mom!" Buffy called as she entered the house.

"In the kitchen, honey!" Joyce answered.

"You haven't started dinner yet, have you?" Buffy asked as she walked down the hallway.

Joyce shook her head as her daughter came in the room, "No. Why? Did you have plans?"

Jumping up on a stool and swiping a cookie from the package sitting on the island, Buffy replied casually, "Just thought I'd tell you that Principal Snyder and Mr. Giles are coming over."

"You aren't in trouble again, are you?" Joyce inquired, taking the package away after her daughter grabbed a couple more cookies. She put them in the cupboard, then turned back for the answer.

Buffy just smiled at her. "Nope, no trouble for me. Actually, Principal Snyder and I have started to get along."

Still a bit wary, Joyce wondered aloud, "Then why are they coming over?"

"To talk to us about my future," Buffy answered as she went to get a glass of milk. "They've both studied a subject that I've decided is kind of interesting."

"What's that?" Joyce was intrigued at the idea that Buffy had an interest in any subject beyond boys, clothes and dancing. And in her junior year, too! Even if it was basketweaving, she was going to encourage this interest.

Buffy downed her glass of milk, filled it back up, then said, "Archeology."

* * *

A/N: Next…Dealing with the Mayor and his assassins.


	6. Chapter 6: Snyder to the Rescue

**Chapter 6: Snyder to the Rescue**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum 'challenge' to write a Snyder-Stu.

A/N: Now we're getting to the Stu-ish part.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Summers home

Dinner went better than Buffy could have hoped. She knew her mom was concerned that Rayner didn't eat much, but they couldn't exactly tell her that whatever he swallowed he'd have to throw up later. Or that eating food was like humans eating dirt. So they just told her that he had digestive problems and had to eat lots of small meals. Joyce seemed to believe it.

As they settled in the living room to talk some more, Joyce broached the topic her daughter brought up earlier, "Buffy told me that you both studied archeology?"

"Yes. It's incredible that we didn't know that about each other until this week. I've actually read about some of the things Rayner has discovered. He had quite the talent for it," Giles shared, very impressed with the man he had despised only the previous week.

Glancing at Buffy, who knew the full story, Rayner simplified his reply, "I left that world because of some personal problems. However, enough time has passed that the pain has diminished to a dull ache. The hard part will be finding somebody to give me a chance again after all these years. I didn't leave my last dig on the best of terms. And it has been almost ten years."

Giles thought back to the phone call he had made to a friend that afternoon, someone who would be willing to work with Rayner – even with the vampire issue. He knew that Rayner expected that to be a stumbling block as well. He hoped they would accept his proposition – and that Rayner would too.

"And somehow they've convinced you to study this? You realize it would mean getting dirty and wearing unfashionable clothes," Joyce pointed out to her California princess daughter, not knowing that she had changed in the past couple years. Her particular brand of denial was to only see that popular cheerleader girl Buffy had been in LA.

Buffy's mind quickly went through all the fights in cemeteries and alleys and other disgusting places since she was Called. It took all her strength not to sigh out loud. "They didn't _try_ to convince me. It was their passion for the subject that sparked my interest." Deciding it was probably better to reinforce her mother's view of her, rather than risk her learning the truth, the Slayer added in her best 'blonde' voice, "And who says I can't wear fashionable clothes? I bet I could set some new trends for the archeologist people. As for getting dirty, that's what showers and washing machines are for."

Sensing his Slayer's hidden hurt over her mother's apparent insult that all Buffy would be interested in was being fashionable while she pursued her career, Giles smiled proudly at 'his' girl and commended her, "Buffy has a keen eye for detail when she sets her mind on something. That is a very useful trait in archeology." The resulting blush that crept up her cheeks told him that he was successful in making her feel better.

Not wanting to be outdone, Rayner added his own praise, "I don't know her as well as Rupert, but I have seen her ability to draw the right kinds of people to her. That would come in handy as well for the political side of things. It was a skill I lacked in, and that was my downfall."

"It's wonderful that she has something planned beyond high school, and I'm grateful for your interest in her future. I know from personal experience how important it is to have people who believe in what you're doing," Joyce said, recalling the professors who encouraged her through the years.

Just then, the phone rang and Buffy answered it. As she spoke to the person on the other end of the line, her jaw twitched in anger. Giles and Rayner sensed her mood immediately, but distracted Joyce so she didn't. When she hung up, the Slayer apologized, "I'm sorry, but Xander and Willow asked me to meet them and a couple old friends of Angel's. It sounded kind of important."

Rayner could feel the tension pouring off his sire and knew he needed to help her with whatever the problem was. He quickly stood up and moved towards the door. "That's alright, I have some paperwork that I need to finish before tomorrow's school board meeting. Thank you for an enjoyable evening, Ms. Summers," he politely said to Buffy's mother.

Following suit, Giles stood up as well. "I should be going as well. It was wonderful talking to you again, Ms. Summers. If there's anything I can do to help Buffy with her future plans, please don't hesitate to ask," he offered.

Joyce stood up and followed them to the door. "We should do this again sometime. You know, to encourage Buffy's interest in archeology," she hastily added, trying to hide her interest in the man before her.

If they hadn't been so distracted by the danger to Xander and Willow, the trio might have wondered at Joyce's strange behavior.

**

* * *

**

Sunnydale High Library

On their way to the school, Giles and Rayner demanded to know what the situation was.

"It was Spike. He said that they had Xander and Willow at the library, and if I wanted them to live, I had to come there. Then they said the strangest thing. They insisted that Rayner come with me," Buffy explained with a hint of confusion.

It didn't make any sense. Giles asked, "Any idea why?"

Buffy just shook her head, "Not a clue."

"I may know why. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before, but until today, I wasn't sure where my loyalties should lie," Rayner spoke up, looking at the ground in shame.

Because of the sire-bond, she could feel his distress from failing her somehow. "It's okay, Rayner. You can tell us," she encouraged him gently.

"You never dreamed about how I came to be in Sunnydale, did you?" She shook her head. "Maybe that would have happened tonight," Rayner replied thoughtfully. "It was the Mayor. We met when I got off the plane in Los Angeles. Somehow he knew that I was wanting to start over, and he offered me a position on his staff researching various artifacts. For years, he was the only person to show me kindness. When he asked me to take the position of vice-principal so I could keep an eye on you, I was willing to do it," he admitted, staring at the ground again.

Giles had to ask the logical follow-up question, "Why would he want you to keep an eye on Buffy?"

"Because he knows she is the Slayer. He has plans that he doesn't want her to interfere with." Before they could ask, Rayner told them, "I don't know what those plans are, just that he's worried she'll stop him somehow."

Buffy didn't really care about the Mayor right now, she had more pressing concerns to deal with. "What does this have to do with Spike and Drusilla taking my friends?"

"I was supposed to give him updates every couple days on her activities. I haven't called him since Halloween, so he must have checked up on us with one of his other spies. If they told him that I was being nice to you, he would take that as a betrayal. He doesn't tolerate betrayal," Rayner explained ominously.

"So you think he wants to get rid of both of us?" Buffy summarized. "Why wouldn't he have just killed me when I first got here?" she wondered.

Giles answered automatically, "Because another Slayer would have come to kill what got you; it's the way things are done."

"That's probably it," Rayner agreed.

* * *

When the trio stormed into the library, Spike cooed to Drusilla, "Look, my dark plum. The Slayer finally showed up. And she brought the traitor with her. Now we can have some fun."

Drusilla became agitated though. "The stars are all mixed up. They don't know what to whisper to me. Something's different about the digger…something dangerous and sparkly," she cried out.

Rolling his eyes at her ramblings – 'cause seriously… 'dangerous and sparkly'? he didn't think so – Spike brushed off her concerns foolishly, "Let's talk about that after we've taken care of these two. Look, luv, you can play with the Watcher," he suggested, knowing his pet's fascination with the guy.

Rayner looked at his sire and saw more vampires surrounding them. "Buffy! Watch out! There's more vampires behind you!" he shouted in warning, just before she seemed to disappear.

One of the minions looked around in confusion. "Where'd she go? You never said she could vanish, Spike," he accused.

Even though he was worried about this turn of events, Spike pretended not to, and ordered, "It doesn't matter. Get the traitor. We'll worry about the Slayer later; she can't hide forever."

Even though the vampires outnumbered their 'prey' 20-3, it didn't take long for Snyder to rip apart half of them. The other half seemed to be slayed by the air itself, when in reality, it was Buffy moving from one to the next, until just Spike and Drusilla remained.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Spike cried out in alarm.

Drusilla was staring at Snyder with doe-y eyes, murmuring, "The digger is one of us, but not one of us."

From the air, they heard Buffy's voice say, "What she means by that is Principal Snyder is a vampire. But he doesn't have the same limitations as you. Rayner? Do you want to do the honors or should I?"

Rayner was relieved to hear her voice, even though he could feel she was okay. "I'll take the female. It's only fitting that the Slayer kill the vampire who was known as the 'Slayer of Slayers'."

Spike turned to look where he last heard Buffy's voice, getting ready to fend off her attack. That made him leave his back to Giles, who took advantage of the situation and staked him from behind. Rayner easily killed Dru as she wailed the loss of her little prince of blood.

"He was supposed to be mine," Buffy complained with a pout as she came back into view.

Giles breathed a sigh of relief that she was visible again; they'd have to determine why that happened. "He would have wanted it that way. That's why I had to make sure he didn't die at your hand. Consider it a final insult."

Buffy let her friends out of the bookcage and was surprised to see Miss Calendar there as well. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah," Xander answered, ignoring the blood trickling down his neck from Drusilla's love bit earlier. Willow had a matching bite from Spike that she was grasping. "What happened with your disappearing act?"

"I think I might have the answer," Willow answered in a shaky voice. "All the Twilight vampires had special abilities, like Alice and seeing the future. Principal Snyder's ability must be creating illusions. When Buffy was at risk, he didn't want her to be harmed, so he made it so the vampires couldn't see her."

Considering the possibility, Rayner conceded, "I _was_ thinking that it would be easier for her to stay safe if they couldn't see her."

"That's remarkable. It is an amazing power," Giles stated with a hint of awe.

"Not to mention a little dangerous. Remember Marcie?" Buffy reminded them. "We'd better find a way to help you control that before something bad happens."

Xander had to wonder about something a little more pressing, though, "What are you going to do about the Mayor? Spike and Dru were talking about who made them come after you," he explained when they looked confused that he knew who was responsible.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound like he'd give up even if they failed," Willow added, sitting down so she wouldn't faint.

Rayner's eyes flashed dangerously. "Then I just won't give him another chance to hurt my sire."

Before Buffy could command him to stop, Rayner was out the door and racing for city hall. Instead, she turned to Miss Calendar, who looked like she was in better shape than the other two, and asked, "Could you take them home – or to the hospital – whichever is a better choice? It looks like a couple of the vamps got thirsty before we got here."

* * *

A/N: Next…What's next for Principal Sparklepire now?


	7. Chapter 7: Snyder's Future

**Chapter 7: Snyder's Future**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #5837 'YAHF: Human Sire' by OldManAlexi. Also from a forum 'challenge' to write a Snyder-Stu.

A/N: Here's the last chapter, folks.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Tomb Raider characters belong to Simon West, Jan De Bont, Mutual Film Company and Paramount Pictures. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

**

* * *

**

Mayor's office

Quickly recovering from the shock of seeing Snyder in his office, the Mayor remarked, "So, either they failed, or you didn't go to the school with the Slayer."

"They failed," Snyder answered, closing the door and standing in front of it to keep the Mayor from escaping easily.

"Guess I should have known better than to have sent vampires after a Slayer," the Mayor mused. His cheerful demeanor slid away as he asked, "Before I have you killed, I want to know… Why did you betray me?"

Snyder knew the man deserved an answer. "Because she offered me friendship. Until then, I was just torn between my loyalties."

"How do you know she isn't just using you?" the Mayor inquired, not really expecting to reverse Snyder's allegiance again – not that he would want to anyway.

"I guess I don't," Snyder conceded, "but you're using me too, so what's the difference? At least she has tried to make me feel better about the things in my past, telling me that I didn't deserve to be treated that way."

The Mayor did look a bit stunned by that piece of news. "So all you need are kind words to sway you?"

"_Sincere_ kind words," Snyder clarified. Remembering what he came here to do, he thought he'd throw the Mayor's words back at him, "Now, before I kill you, what was the plan that you wanted to keep the Slayer away from?"

"You think you can kill me before I can call my guards in here?" the Mayor leaned back in his chair, his hand hovering over the call button. He didn't feel the need to press it because he didn't really think Snyder was a threat – unless he had a gun.

Not explaining that he killed most of the guards on the way in – at least the ones that weren't human – Snyder replied, "Will you answer my question?"

The Mayor thought about it for a second, then shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, why not. It's not as if you'll live long enough to tell anyone. About eighteen months from now, I'm going to become a full demon. There's a strict timetable that I must keep in these last couple years – which is why her presence is so inconvenient."

Seeing a possible way out for upsetting his sire by killing the Mayor, Snyder pounced on that hope. "So are you human now?"

"Only a little bit," the Mayor answered, signing his own death sentence. "I traded my humanity when I first founded Sunnydale. I would create and maintain the Hellmouth so the demons wouldn't kill me. In exchange, I wouldn't age, and after 100 years, I could become a demon myself."

"That's a relief."

"Why?"

"Because I promised not to kill humans. She might be a bit upset with me, but if you aren't fully human, and you are behaving evilly, she probably will forgive me…I hope," Snyder tacked on afterward. He began to stalk towards the desk.

Something was niggling at the back of the Mayor's sense of self-preservation, so he hit the call button. Then he hit it again…and again. "I don't understand why you think you can kill me or why she's so important to you," he said, hoping to buy time for the guards who couldn't answer his call because they were all dead – something he was just realizing and was afraid might be his fate soon.

Bearing his fangs, Snyder replied, "I think I can kill you because _I'm_ not human anymore." He raced over to tear the Mayor apart. "And she's important because she's my sire."

As the Mayor bled out, his last thought was, _**'When did the Slayer become a vampire?'**_

**

* * *

**

Library

When Rayner finally made it back to the library, Buffy practically jumped on him. "Are you okay? Did you kill the Mayor? I thought we talked about you killing humans! That counts for non-eating purposes, too! Except for in a self-defense situation, I guess, but how could a human actually threaten you?"

Giles put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Buffy, dear girl, you'll have to stop talking if you want him to answer you."

"Oh, right. Go ahead, Rayner," she said, sitting down so she couldn't pace. It didn't stop her from fidgeting though.

"In order, I'm fine; yes, I did; fortunately, he isn't," Rayner replied with a small smirk.

Both Buffy and Giles looked confused at his response; however, she was the only one to say. "Huh?"

Rayner took pity on his sire and expanded his explanation, "He's been alive since Sunnydale began almost 100 years ago. He created the town to give the demons something to feed on while he worked on his plan."

"Which was…?" Giles prompted, his mind racing about what this could mean.

"To become a demon in about a year and a half. After I killed him, I searched his office for any papers about it." Rayner handed a bag to Giles. "There may be more, but that's what I found for now. Will you forgive me, sire?" he pleaded, dropping to his knees by her chair.

Despite her instant response to reassure him, Buffy felt she should check with her Watcher. "Giles?"

He was browsing though the books. "From first glance, the demon he would become isn't quite as bad as an Old One, but at the same time, he could have caused a lot of deaths when he…ascended, is the term mentioned here."

"Sounds like it was good then. I just don't want you to become a killer, Rayner," Buffy tried to explain her reluctance towards humans to him.

Rayner smiled warmly. He got up and took the chair next to her. "Thank you for your concern."

"No prob. I wouldn't want any of my friends to kill without a really good reason," she replied, not realizing how happy she made him by referring to him as a friend. Or maybe she did and didn't want to make a big issue of it. "So, now that the Mayor can't force you to be the principal, are you going to stay here at the school?"

"I haven't had the chance for it to sink in yet. I guess I don't know," Rayner finally said.

Now that he had heard back from his friend, Giles decided to put his proposition on the table. "I, for one, think it would be a tremendous loss to the world if you didn't go back to archeology."

Rayner's look of longing wasn't lost on either the Slayer or Watcher. Then he replied sadly, "It would be tempting, but I don't think I'd be able to find anyone to risk taking me on their team – not after the way I left my last dig. Plus there's the issue of my condition to keep in mind."

"I have some contacts that wouldn't worry about either of those things," Giles offered, hiding the smugness he felt for having things taken care of already.

Buffy's eyes widened in shock. "You're not thinking about the Council, are you?"

"Dear lord, no!" Giles denied vehemently. "The Council would try to kill him, then us for allowing him to live, if they knew of his existence." He shook his head, then explained, "An old friend from Oxford was an archeologist before his death, and now his daughter is following in his footsteps. I think it could work out splendidly for all involved."

"Why do I think that you've already arranged things?" Buffy asked suspiciously. He was acting like he always did before he would surprise her with something.

Still, Giles tried to look innocent as he said, "All I have done was call my goddaughter and asked her to consider having Rayner on her team – if he should choose to go back to that life."

Rayner turned to Buffy and asked, "Sire? What should I do?"

She refused to accept responsibility for making the choice for him. "Whatever makes you happy. You will always be welcome wherever I am, Rayner, I want you to understand that," she reassured him. "But asking you to stay here to help me fight vampires and demons is a waste of your talents. It would be like me becoming a professional cheerleader. Yeah, we can do those things, but it isn't the right thing for us. Did you love archeology? Do you miss it at all?" she asked.

Recalling his life before Cynthia's betrayal, Rayner answered honestly, "Yes. I miss the thrill of discovery, and the joy of learning."

"Then you should help Giles' goddaughter," she encouraged, sensing that he just wanted her approval for his choice.

"You're certain she won't be upset having a vampire on her team?" Rayner inquired hesitantly.

Giles simply smiled. "Lara's faced some fairly strange things in her life. A vampire from a book series will hardly be the worst of it."

His eyes almost bugging out, Rayner gasped, "Lara? Are you talking about Lady Croft?"

The title wasn't lost on Buffy, who instantly teased her Watcher, "You know nobility Giles? Should we be calling you Sir Giles?" All he could do was cough uncomfortably in reply. "We should? Oh my-"

Cutting her off, Giles quickly explained, "It's merely a formality because I'm a Watcher assigned to an active Slayer. Being knighted provides me with some legal protection if I should ever need it – as long as the trouble was due to my responsibilities as Watcher. I also have a letter certifying that I have limited diplomatic immunity."

"Wow, pretty big secret there. " She narrowed her eyes suspiciously when he still looked nervous about something. "What else aren't you telling us?"

"You have to keep this secret – even from your friends. Do you promise, Buffy? I'm not joking about this," Giles added in his most serious tone.

Which made Buffy answer just as solemnly, "I promise."

"You were knighted as well," Giles said with a tiny bit of apprehension. She really wasn't supposed to find out about this until she needed to. "All Slayers have the same protection for the same reasons. The Crown believes that protecting the world shouldn't hinge on the Slayer being in jail for committing a 'crime'."

Buffy started laughing hysterically. "Wow, can you just see Xander's face if he ever found out he crushed on a knight? Wait, does that mean I'm Sir Buffy?"

"In the case of a female, the title is Dame, so you would be called Dame Buffy Summers," Rayner corrected with a slight bow of his head out of respect for her title.

Giles looked alarmed and reminded her, "Buffy, you promised not to tell anyone."

"I know, and I won't. But you can't tell me that the teensiest part of you wouldn't love to see his expression." She knew she had him when he refused to answer, but his lips quivered ever so slightly at the corners.

**

* * *

**

School Administration Building

**The next day…**

"…That concludes our scheduled topics for discussion," the district superintendent finished. Then he turned and informed the group, "Principal Snyder, we have to address a complaint from parents concerning your treatment of some of the students yesterday? You gave detention to one of the cheerleaders and several athletes? They are insisting that we discipline you."

"Detention they deserved, sir," Snyder responded firmly. "One of the athletes was sexually harassing a female student. The rest of that group were bullying other students. I suppose I could have given them a warning first, but I doubt it would have stopped them. They are too used to getting away with that sort of behavior."

One of the board members spoke up, "Why is that?"

"That's my fault. I've allowed it to go on," Snyder admitted.

This wasn't the Snyder the superintendent was used to dealing with. This one was respectful without being obsequious. And the fact that he disciplined the 'popular' kids was another red flag in his behavior. "Why did you change your mind about interfering?" he questioned.

Snyder decided to be as honest as he could without giving away too much. "I talked to a young lady a few days ago. She said that just because I had to suffer through it while I was growing up, didn't mean I should allow it to happen to other kids. I realized that by not stopping it, I was just as much to blame for the bullying as the bullies were. It's not healthy for any of the children involved to let it continue. I would suggest that this issue is addressed after I leave the school."

The superintendent was further shocked by that announcement. "You aren't being fired," he clarified, just in case Snyder somehow thought he had been. Maybe since the Mayor got him the job and the man was dead now, Snyder assumed he would be let go. It was doubtful any personnel decisions would be made before the special election to replace the Mayor.

"I know, but I was coming in here today to hand in my resignation." As he handed the superintendent the paper, Snyder explained, "I only took the job as a personal favor for the Mayor, and now that he's dead, I would rather return to my previous profession. Let somebody who enjoys being around teenagers be the principal; I think everyone should be happier with that."

"Okay, if you're certain about this," the superintendent replied, knowing most – if not all – of the students and staff at the high school would be happy about the decision.

Snyder gave them a rare smile. "I am."

Finding that he wanted to know this version of Snyder better, the superintendent sincerely said, "Then good luck with…" trailing off when he realized he didn't know the man's plans.

"I was an archeologist," Snyder provided the answer.

"Your archeology," he repeated with a nod. He looked at the other board members as he told Snyder, "We will discuss what you mentioned and decide if any rules need to be created to lessen bullying."

"Thank you, sirs…ma'am," Snyder said his goodbyes and left the room.

Outside, Giles and Buffy were waiting to take him to the airport where Lady Croft's private jet was ready to fly him to her ancestral home in England.

* * *

A/N: How's that for making Snyder a likeable person and a hero? Was he a Snyder-Stu?


End file.
